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ENERGY

What to do in the case of a nuclear alert in France

France has a large nuclear sector, which has helped it be more independent when it comes to energy. However the power source is not without risk - here is the French emergency protocol and what to do if you heard the sirens.

Nuclear power plants, like this one in eastern France, could cause huge loss of life in the case of an accident.
France relies heavily on energy produced by nuclear power plants. Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP

There are 18 nuclear power plants in France, with a total of 56 reactors, and plans to build more. The first nuclear plant opened in France in 1962. 

According to the French government, accidents can occur in the nuclear plants themselves, during the transport of radioactive substances, as the result of an leak of radiation into the environment and at facilities where uranium is produced, conditioned or stocked.  

In some parts of France, there’s also the potential for radiation to drift in from another country.

Because of its large nuclear sector, France has a detailed emergency protocol:

If you live or work within 10km of a nuclear plant, there are a number of measures you can take to prepare:

  • Pick up information brochures from your local mairie (town hall);
  • Pick up iodine tablets from a pharmacy partnered with the town hall – you will need proof of address; 
  • Organise an emergency kit with your identity documents and any other important paperwork, medicine, first-aid equipment, clothes, a battery radio with extra batteries, food and drink. 

It’s worth also knowing the relevant emergency numbers to call – Emergency in France: Who to call and what to say 

In the case of a nuclear accident, you will be alerted by sirens.

In most towns and cities these are tested on the first Wednesday of the month, the test siren goes on for 1 minute and 41 seconds, but if the emergency is real this will be three spells of one-minute 41-seconds, broken by a five-second pause.

A 30-second siren indicates the end of any alert.

However, some areas of the country have their own distinct alert signals for nuclear incidents, which is why you should contact your local mairie for information

If you hear the long siren, you should take the following steps:

  • Make sure you are in a building, ideally with concrete walls. Close all doors and windows and cut any air conditioning. 
  • If you are driving when an alert goes off, get into a building as soon as possible. Vehicles are not adequate protection. 
  • Avoid touching things outside as much as possible. If it has been raining, put outside anything that has got wet (such as umbrellas, shoes, coats) while out of doors
  • Stay informed from reliable news sources – eg French public radio services. If you’re looking on social media follow only official accounts for public bodies such as mairies, police or government ministers. Public authorities will issue instructions on what to do – notably whether or not to consume iodine tablets – via the media. It is recommended that you get information from public service broadcasters (either online, on the radio or TV), specifically France Bleu, France Info, France Télévisions.
  • Don’t fetch your children from school once you hear the sirens – school staff are trained in how to protect them. Don’t search for other family members who are not at home. 
  • Avoid using the phone to keep the airwaves free for emergency services.
  • Only take iodine tablets, which help prevent radiation from being absorbed by your thyroid gland, if local authorities instruct you to do so. If you don’t have iodine tablets at home, local authorities will organise an emergency distribution. Priority will be given to pregnant women and children under the age of 18. 
  • Prepare for evacuation from the zone. Have your emergency kit ready. 
  • During evacuation, follow instructions from the local authority. 

In the period following an accident, once you are safely sheltered inside, you should:

  • Remain calm – public authorities will handle those who have been potentially exposed to dangerous levels of radiation and make them undergo medical examination
  • Follow the news closely and signal your presence to the local Centre d’accueil et d’Information du public (CAI), which has been set up in your commune. Details how to do this will be included in information brochures distributed by the mairie. If you can’t reach the CAI, contact the mairie itself. 

If you live near a nuclear site but beyond a 10km radius, you may be living within a Zone de protection des populations (ZPP).

If you live in the vicinity of a nuclear plant, you should check with your local mairie to find out if you live in one of these zones. If you do, then you should follow the following steps, post-accident:

  • Local authorities will ban the consumption of food produced in the area since the accident. You should survive on food you already have stocked at home and contact the mairie to find out where food deliveries will take place. Don’t go hunting or fishing for food. 
  • Unless informed otherwise, you can still consume tap water.
  • Specialists will visit your home to clean the building exterior of radioactive particles. You will likely receive instructions on how to clean the inside of your home. 
  • Avoid green spaces and forests which are likely to store large amounts of radiation. 
  • Do not evacuate unless asked to do so by the local authority. 

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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